The tale of the great Uzumaki Kushina
by Lonski
Summary: No one knew that their actions would have such an impact on the future of their village. Kushina never knew that searching for her missing student would define her; she didn't know that Minato could make her all dreams come true. But is it too late?
1. Where it all began

_**Okay, the reason for me re-writing this is that well... I want to write this a lot better. I'm writing this now a week after the release of Naruto 499. I could quite easily change my plot I had planned to fit with the current (and very exciting) revelations about Kushina's character. I had a plan from the get-go, a cunning one at that. I may well add details which I think are not too important to the overall plot of my own fic from the cannon series. But they'd only really be references. I've worked hard on this story; I want this to be a good one. So I hope you like it and if you do please do review. Even if you hate it, tell me so!**_

_**So yeah guys, I'm re-writing my chapters and I will continue this story once I catch up. **_

_**I'm really very sorry about the long wait. I'm really thankful, grateful and honored with all of your responses in reviews, private messages, and favourites. Even now, after all of this time, I'm still receiving responses. I used to get really upset that I had very few reviews when I just got started. But I'm an avid reader and I don't usually choose to read incomplete stories unless they're sequels so... in short... that this is gonna be another thank you. Thank you for reading. Thank you for following. Thank you for spending your time with this. Peace.**_

_**Lonski**_

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**Chapter one.**

**Where it all began.**

The baking sun beamed high above the Village; a constant guardian to the people below who regard it simply as a small part of life. A small part which both illuminates and shadows the angular faces etched in stone of the leaders' faces both past and present

There was a great view from where she was sat. She hung, quite precariously on a dried out piece of wood stolen from a fence. The wind tickled the rope and made her feet sway a little as they dangled freely beneath her. She considered with a smirk if it would be a good idea to slip off a sandal and see if it is anyone on the head. Would it hurt from up here?

"Add another layer or not...?" She muttered to herself as she peered upwards to her masterpiece. "Would it stay on if it rained or would it just run down and make the rock all red and yellow and pink and... like a rainbow? That would look pretty cool."

She felt completely at ease from this height. The occasional breeze which swayed her perch, how her clothes wafted as she swung her legs and ho her toes tingled when she wiggled them. How the clouds made the earth seem to move beneath her as she remained anchored to her seat. Weightless. Floating. Free.

She was young, just about the average age of a recent graduate of the Academy. She wore a large orange and black striped top with baggy sleeves. With A thick multi-layered black skirt with simple orange stitch work at the hem in thick twine. On her legs she wore simple black socks which reached up to her mid-thigh, just a few inches beneath her skirt. Her sandals were plain black and matched with her ninja headband on her arm and the bandanna in her red hair.

"Marvellous. Brilliant. Fantastic." The words tumbled from her mouth with a smile. She didn't often say those kinds of words but her pride in her work called for it. She had never pained such a good nosebleed.

"Oi Kushina!" A curious young boy called from the distance above.

With a heavy sigh she blew a strand of hair from her face and looked up. "WHAT?" suddenly she felt a wave of anger as it sank in that she had been found out.

"What are you doing?" The unbroken boy's voice asked softly.

"'DOES IT LOOK LIKE 'M DOIN?" Kushina yelled as she frantically painted away in the attempt to finish the last part of the nosebleed before anyone else arrived.

"Hmm... From here... it looks like you've let paint from up here and poured it down their faces. Defacing the Hokage monument. Painting. But that wasn't your question now was it? You were implying the question _why_ are you doing this?" He stopped and peered down to her and waited patiently for her to reply.

After a moment of contemplation Kushina said, "Well," She had forgotten all about being angry with him, "People just look at this rock to remember what the leaders of this Village looked like. They don't see what they did to get there. They just see the faces."

The blonde boy fiddled with his nails as he lay on his stomach on the ledge, "So... you're painting on them?"

"So they see something else!" She yelled at him, as if it was the most obvious thing to him.

He continued to look confused as he muttered, "I see."

There was a long pause as she returned to her work and ignored him as she dabbed away with her straw brush. There was still time. All seemed to go well until a rock smacked her on the back of the head as it fell from where he lay. "_Damn idiot!"_ She cursed under her breath as she tried to ignore him as best as she could. That was until he scared her half to death by dropped suddenly down to sit beside her. He had slid down one of the rope on her seat and he made the perch jerk suddenly to the side. Kushina grabbed onto his jacket for support as he grabbed onto her arm and held her steady.

"'CHA DOING EH MINATO? TRYING TO KILL ME YEAH? YOU MAD BLOODY SON OF A SHOE!" She yelled at him in a bloody rage as she clung for dear life onto his arm.

He turned to her as he wiggled for balance on her seat next to her and quipped with a cheesy grin, "No. Helping you I guess. Is that okay?" Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed a spare paintbrush from her pouch and began to swipe wistfully at the stone. Adding some more blood to the third's goatee. "Kinda looks odd from this angle. Does his nose look bigger to you, d'think?"

She hung her head low as she scowled at him; this was supposed to be her gig. "His nose seems a lot bigger then normal. OF COURSE IT'S BIGGER!"

He huffed in response, "'Thought you wanted to finish this? I'm only helping." He pulled a face at her which made her feel quite guilty and harsh to him.

Kushina spluttered, "I – you – don't turn this on me! You're always trying to help. And it always gets me into more trouble when you do."

He looked thoughtful and added, "I never understand why they do that –"

The read-head crossed her arms and added her own huff, "Well I do. You're a goodie-two-shoes and a kiss-ass to boot. They think I'm trying to ruin your reputation out of jealousy because you're the future Hokage's favourite student which means to them that you're gonna be the... sixth Hokage after him which you're not coz I AM NOT YOU kiss-ass once they realise how great at being a Ninja I am compared to you." Kushina gasped for breath and Minato simply looked at her with shocked cerulean eyes.

"Whoa..." Was all he managed for a moment before he added, "He's not gonna be the future Hokage and you really shouldn't ..." Minato lowered his voice a little, "become Hokage if the only reason is to make a point like that." He looked at her expression before he hastily replied, "I mean, you've got good reason to want to prove them wrong but... is that it? You said before... you want people to see beneath what this rock looks like and see what it means. So maybe you should try and make people see how great you are... because you're great and not because you want to point and laugh at them."

Kushina simply looked at him for a moment before she asked lightly, "You think I'm great at being a ninja?" Her eyes glimmered as she smiled sweetly at him, she was touched. He looked away, suddenly feeling very shy.

"Err... yeah. But don't forget. I'm the favourite student of the 'Future Hokage' remember? You've gotta beat me first if you want to be Hokage." He grinned.

He may act like a flaky and nervous person most of the time, but there was always this voice of confidence that fought to break free. It was... nice to be in his company.

"Sure. But we know already who will win though. It's obvious." She grinned at him.

Minato simply shook his head and laughed with a smile, "Yeah, sure we do."

"_**Minato!" **_A young female voice called from the distance, the pair turned to see a dark-haired girl of the same age as them calling at them with a scowl.

Kushina sighed, _'It was only a matter of time I guess' _"Oh look, it's your girlfriend." She commented tonelessly as she waved with a clearly fake smile at the girl. The brunette growled back at her in response.

"She's not my girlfriend!" The blonde said to her as he spun away from his teammate.

Kushina turned her fake smile onto him and gasped, "You made it official then? When's the wedding?"

"I – She's – !" He hissed to Kushina, careful not to let the other girl hear. It would only cause more pain and embarrassment later.

Kushina backed down with a proper, "Okay touchy, little tetchy there for someone who is free, single and most defiantly not dating their teammate. Its fine if you are though, I don't mind."She added with a hint of honesty in her thick tone of sarcasm seeped through. "You're funeral now though, I mean... You're always gonna have me to ruin your reputation. But if you get with her, she'll ruin your life."

Minato had been looking at the gathering crowd on the rooftops around them. Below them both was a sheer drop which eventually came to a square, he spun around at her words.

"Do you really think so?" He asked with astonishment on his face.

"Yeah, have you seen how she claws at your arm and begs for attent-"

He flushed, "No I mean... About you... Being there?"

Kushina frowned, _'He's acting like that's a good thing' _She answered slowly, still a little baffled, "Yeah, sure. Why not? You're not bad for a kiss-ass yanno."

"_What are you doing with __**her **__there?" _The zealous girl continued to complain.

"I see what you mean about her ruining my life... My head-"

More annoying cried fromother people wafted from the rooftops. _"Minato, come down from there. She's a bad influence, that one!"_

"_What do you think you're doing there Uzumaki? You being dishonour to our people you red-haired demon!"_

Kushina scowled and muttered, trying to sound disinterested and breezy, "Yeah, sure play the hair card." Minato looked at Kushina with an apologetic expression. She continued her rant and turned to face the Villager and yelled, "At least my face doesn't look like an ass!"

Minato scoffed, unable to hide his laughter and turned to Kushina and looked as though he was about to scold her regardless but paused and instead asked, "Could you pass me the red, I want to finish the Hokage's nosebleed before we're stopped."

They laughed.

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_**Author's notes.**_

_**Okay... so this is like the third version of this chapter and I am FINALLY happy with it. I haven't let this story die completely. I've just been busy with a lot of other things. Uni, moving out, having a social life (no longer a recluse yay!). Also, well I'm working on an ORIGINAL film script. You'll find some bits and pieces of this story on my account. A link will be provided eventually but you can ask me for it if you're interested enough in it. **_

_**So... yay for the summer hols!**_

_**Anyway, thank you from the bottom of my heart, for reading and maybe even if you're even more fantastic then even my overly imaginative mind can comprehend... you'll review. Be it detailed or just a little note telling me what you think. **_

_**Anyway, onto chapter two - !**_

_**Lonski**_


	2. What can't kill me

_**Okay, onto another chapter. This will (hopefully) be the last time I go over this so I can continue my story.**_

_**This chapter deals with violence, death and traumatic themes. I try and keep things dramatic yet tasteful however if you are upset or alarmed please say so. This is rated T as of now however this can change.**_

_**Read and review but more importantly... enjoy!**_

_**Lonski**_

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**Chapter Two**

**What can't kill me can only make me stronger... right?**

The sharp sounds of metal clashing with metal rung throughout the Village covered in the shadowy cloak of midnight. A harsh wind breathed and cruelly numbed the hands of the soldiers who desperately fought for their lives and home. Blinding white and yellow explosions burst into life at random intervals which threw unforgiving parts of buildings and... some even saw friends, neighbours... unknown faces being caught in the blasts also. The sheer force of nature was indifferent and ruthless as it tore apart everything within it radius.

Amidst the cries of dying men and women, a small child was curled in her bed and trembled in terror as the sounds had begun to make its way towards her own home. How many of her friend's were dead already? She screamed in terror as her bedroom window was suddenly lit-up from outside and a hot blast of air shattered the glass. Was it a monster that was destroying her home? Was that its breath? Was it going to eat her? All she could do was tighten her grip n her knees as she cowered under her bedclothes.

Her bedroom opened and it splintered against the wall from the sheer force. The little girl shrieked in panic, "NO! Don't hurt me please!" She was unable to raise her head and look up; her fear had made her body immobile. Cold hands grasped her shoulders suddenly and the girl's heart stopped for a moment as she was shook free from her covers.

"Kushina! It's Mother. You must get up; we don't have much time to leave!" Glassy hazel eye searched her daughter's face; auburn hair framed her heart-shaped face. Just as the little girl's own hair would in a few years' time.

"M-mum?" Kushina implored. Her voice was hardly above a whisper.

The woman pulled Kushina from her bed and took her hand as she led them both out of the room and towards the entrance hall of the compound.

Suddenly, the girl realised she had left something behind. Something she could never leave behind, she pulled away from her Mother's grasp and turned back to her room.

"Kushina?" The woman cried, her voice was thick with terror.

Kushina pulled out her most precious treasure from her draw; it was a gift from her father for her fifth birthday. Pair of green and black goggles, just like his. She pulled them over her head and around her neck for safekeeping.

The moment of peace was broken when a sudden flash of a better-aimed explosive detonated on the far wall of the compound. Kushina's bedroom wall.

"KUSHINA!" Her Mother screamed as she watched her child fall through the air as the entire front of the building crumbled apart, sending her daughter to fall almost weightlessly down.

_Thankfully_, Kushina managed to grab a part of a wall and it landed with her diagonally protruding from the ground. The small girl slid down the bricked wall. Her hands, cheek and her knees were battered ruthlessly until she ground to a halt on the cool carpet of the garden lawn. The little girl lay stunned on the grass until she was dragged back to painful reality when a terrible sound greeted her ears. It was most defiantly her Mother's voice but she wasn't calling for Kushina. She was begging for her life.

"N-no please DON'T! STOP PLEASE!" Her Mother screamed; her voice cut through every other sound. To Kushina, it was the only thing which existed in her new world of pain, terror and... Her world was suddenly re-introduced to the noises of her surroundings after... after the last sound Kushina heard her Mother make was... a blood-curdling scream as the life from her body was torn away. It would remain etched in her memory for the rest of Kushina's life.

"MUM?" Kushina as her trance was broken. She scrambled to her feet, ignoring the blood and the pain from her fall as she tried, desperately to climb the fallen wall to try and get to her Mother.

Heavy footsteps approached her from behind but she was beyond caring about anything other then getting to her Mother. It took three tries for the Soldiers to finally catch her attention.

"Kushina-Sama?" The youngest of the pair of Shinobi knelt beside where she stood and tenderly took out a handkerchief and held it to her cheek. Kushina winded away with pain and something in her broke. She knew there wouldn't be anything she could do to help her Mother now. The girl was suddenly overcome with tears.

"My Mum sh-she's" Her breath hitched as her throat shrunk to the point where she could no longer speak, she pointed a shaking hand towards where her room once was.

The older man nodded with understanding and commanded the other, "Kenji-San." The other man understood and saluted with a hand across his chest and disappeared a he sprung up the collapsed wall. Kushina tried desperately to tell them it was no use she was...

"I'm Hiroshi, your Father sent me to find you. I will take you to him if you will allow me to carry you. It is safer and quicker that way. Understand?" The man was tall, even from an adult's perspective and she looked at him with tear-filled eyes as he shadowed him. Kushina nodded and immediately the man knelt where Kenji had been and allowed her to climb onto his back.

She was shown a dizzying view of the state of her Village; few buildings stood whole, there were men and woman fighting enemies who were shrouded with tattered cloaks, with no sign of a ninja headband. The stench of burning swept over her and stung her nose and eyes, she covered her face with Kenji's borrowed handkerchief and instead she tried to concentrate on the salty and metallic combination of her tears and blood on the cloth. She didn't want to think about what other things were burning from wood. It was too much to think about. All those people...

Eventually, Hiroshi slowed as they reached the main square of the Village. They both tensed as a feeling of foreboding washed over them. There were no shrouded men fighting her own people... there was no one there other then a lone man with his back to them both. Hiroshi placed her on the ground and Kushina fought to remain on her feet.

"Father?" Kushina asked, her voice held hope as she began to rush towards the man, Hiroshi suddenly gripped her arm painfully tight and prevented to move any further as...

A glimmer of steel caught the light of the full moon at the centre of her Father's back. A sickle-shaped blade came into view as a dribble of crimson fluid dropped from its edge and stained the cobbled floor. The blade suddenly vanished with a sickening sound and her Father fell to the floor as though he was a broken puppet.

"NO!" Kushina screamed as she fought desperately to free herself from Hiroshi's vice-like grip.

The image of her Father burned into her mind as she replayed it over and over in her head; she hardly heard Hiroshi's yells and only responded when he pushed her away behind him protectively. Kushina stumbled to the ground and smacked her head hard on the floor. She raised her head upwards just in time to see a young man stand exactly where her own Father had only moments ago. Such a thing could not ever be described as human. His mouth seemed to be in a perpetual and unnaturally large grin as a dark line spanned from his lips to his jaw line. His skin was deathly pale and had a dun wax-like appearance. His vividly green eyes shot from his poor imitation of a man's face and they glared at Kushina, framed by feather-like blood red hair which waved gracefully in an otherworldly breeze which caught his cloak as it stood to regard them both.

It stretched out his hand and offered them an unlined open palm, in a flurry of movement however, it suddenly changed and a short word shot from the middle of his palm and it snapped into place.

Hiroshi cleared his throat and stood unbelievably calmly before Kushina as he asked, "Where is the real you?"

"_Right here."_

A soft voice responded politely to the Shinobi as he materialised in a waft of black mist from behind Hiroshi. Kushina yelled as she scrambled away from the _thing_. Thankfully its attention was focused entirely upon Hiroshi as its head was turned at an unnatural angle to regard the man.

"_Akasuna no Sasori?" _Hiroshi gasped as he remained rooted to the spot. Kushina realised suddenly that Hiroshi was not calm. He was simply still with resignation that he had few options which would lead him away from their situation. None of them were good.

Sasori seemed far too young for someone to invoke such terror on a fully grown man like Hiroshi. However, there was nothing normal about the man.

"From this day forth, the name Uzumaki is extinct. The Nation of Whirlpools has fallen with its leader. All that remains is _you_." Sasori directed at Kushina. "My one hundred puppet army cannot and will never be stopped."

Hiroshi began as he turned to face Sasori, "It is not dead, not while I still protect-"

"You are already dead." Sasori hissed and the Shinobi froze with realization as a prickling sensation from the side of his neck turned into a cold feeling which ran through his veins as though he was suddenly being doused in iced water. Hiroshi stumbled; he suddenly felt as though his limbs were several times heavier then before and his body ached for rest.

"Within the next few moments your body will gradually cool as your core temperature is being affected by my poison which is by now; indefinably within your brain. Your heart rate will decline and your body will become starved of oxygen and will become heavier and heavier with each moment." Hiroshi clumsily pulled out the thin lass-like needle from his neck and shattered it in his hand. "That action was pointless as you have no hope of survival. Your body will become frozen from the inside and you will be rendered unable to think, breathe, speak and move. A perfect piece of art of a moment captured in time.

Hiroshi staggered as he struggled to fight for air as his lungs began to shut down. He couldn't allow himself the dishonour of not attempting to complete the task his leader had charged him with. He pulled out a scroll from a pocket of his flack jacket as he ignored Sasori's voice which said,

"Resistance is futile, you can only marvel at my masterpiece with your last few-."

The young man was cut off as he launched himself safely away from a shower of Kunai from above. Kenji appeared with a few recent wounds but he stood firm regardless. "Kushina-Sama, remain as far away as you can. Hiroshi-Sempai, forgive me but I couldn't have arrived soo-"

Hiroshi ignored Kenji's runaway mouth and simply threw the scroll at the younger man to cut him off. Kenji deftly caught it and looked up just a Hiroshi had begun to pitch forward. "Activate it, save Kushina." And the man fell to the floor, dead before he touched the stone.

Sasori's puppet focused on the scroll between Kenji's fingers and shot forward to steal it from the young Shinobi. Kenji leapt backwards and away from both Sasori and his duplicate and narrowly avoided the puppets blade as it slashed through the air where he had stood only moments ago. Kenji ran around the puppet's next attack and kept an eye on the still Sasori. It seemed Sasori was waiting for his puppet to kill him. Kenji shot towards where Kushina lay on the ground and shouted "_Suiton: Suijinheki!"_ as he skidded to a halt to face the two enemies.

A thick wall of water shot from the ground and spanned across the square. The puppet had followed Kenji closely and it crashed into the water. Confused by this seemingly weak barrier it thrashed at it with its sword several times before it received orders to calculate another approach. Which only took three seconds as a long and heavy scroll was flung into the air and activated to create its own barrage of miscellaneous weapons and light explosives, most of which had managed to break through and shower down onto Kenji.

Kenji collapsed in pain as the number of wounds trebled in less then a second. He still gripped the scroll in his hand however, and he turned to face the tearful Kushina. It took everything he had to shoot her a smile but it was a true one and it managed to set her slightly at ease. There was a way out...

"Kushina-Sama." He said his voice had become harsh and low from surprised pain; the girl ran towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder as she reached for his handkerchief. "Keep it. Let it remind you of something important. Tell them what you have seen. Tell them it was Sasori. Tell them who you are and you will be safe. Understand?"

Kushina nodded, her mind was blank but she was certain she would remember when the time came.

"Good. Not hold out your hand." Kenji threw open the scroll as he used his other hand to hold onto hers. His fingers were cold in hers. He spat out some blood from his mouth onto the intricate pattern on the paper and he caught her attention with a squeeze of her hand. "_Run_." And with that Kenji, the advancing puppet through the weakened wall of water, Sasori her home... Everything simply melted away from view as her hand wad forced down onto the scroll.

Her feet landed heavily on uneven ground and she stumbled as she tried to obey Kenji's last command. Her foot suddenly sunk in a soft pile of decaying leaves and connected with a fallen tree log. Kushina fell forward and painfully jarred her ankle. A shocked flock of blackbirds flapped away with fright above her head and the sound snapped Kushina from her daze. A flickering warm light shone through the darkness of the forest and she hurled herself onto her feet and towards it.

An impressive wooden-paneled gate stood proudly before her as the Village's name was scrawled in red; _Konoha. _

Relief swathed over her small form followed swiftly with exhaustion and pain as she watched the gate glow in the warmth of the torches at either side. Suddenly her view became much lower and Kushina simply stared at the wondrous light and regarded the approaching darkness with confusion.

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_**Author notes.**_

_**Doing an all-nighter and after a misbehaving laptop I've managed to churn this one out right after the first. I really like Eminem's new song with Rihanna; 'Love the way you lie.' Really good mood-setter for the end of this chapter. Don't worry though, this isn't gonna be a song fic and have the lyrics plastered in between paragraphs. Coz that's really annoying. Wanna know what else is annoying? Me, I'll quit yapping.**_

_**Just as a side-note. I know Kushina is very observant for a child her age however she is no ordinary child. She's been brought up in a clearly mature militant background. So from this, I am able to assume that she would have been taught from a young age how to read people as a form of defence as she is too young to defend herself physically. Instinct also plays a large part in this too.**_

_**Thanks for reading, please continue to read and if you have the time, be a fantastic and wonderful person (more-so then you usually are) and post in a little review for Lonski.**_

_**Lonski.**_


	3. The Team

_**Another victim to my creatively inspired (insanity driven) self-betaing purge of chapters' fantabulously exciting all-nighter. Not. I need sleep...**_

_**Thanks again folks, for your readership, comments and for being fantastic people in general.**_

_**I... got rid of a chapter because looking back... it was really just a filler which I could use to refer back. It was basically about establishing how Kushina and Minato know each other but yeah, I can choose to change that how and why now. Maybe it will be a bad idea to get rid of some of my word count because I know myself I choose stories with a high word-count but hey... I don't want to waste time on a filler. I hate fillers.**_

_**Lonski**_

**Chapter three: The team.**

From somewhere in the distance a crow seemed to laugh as its deep caw echoed throughout the village. It seemed to know as it cried that someone was missing something important.

A snore rang through the studio apartment from beneath a pile of bedclothes, random food bowls and chopsticks. A foot stuck out from the thick duvet as a means of keeping its master cool in the already unbearably hot day. A woman in her early twenties lay sprawled in a tangled mess and she yawned as she slowly began to wake. A brown eye popped open and scanned the apartment for anything suspicious... like some uneaten food left for her to have as breakfast. No such luck, she never left her food unfinished.

"Whaz time... " She rolled lazily to her side to peer at the dented alarm clock on the floor and she suddenly sprang to life, "Crap!" It was eleven, she was three hours late!

"They're gonna kill m- ARGH!" Kushina yelled as she fell unceremoniously and face-planted the floor. Her Duvet had turned on her and had wound itself around her ankle. With a groan she pulled herself up and crawled on all fours, feeling very sorry for herself. "Bloody THING!" The red-head cursed as she hauled herself up and staggered towards the kitchen/living room where the majority of her clothes were scattered.

"Kit... Where are you girl?" She whistled to her equipment. Where in Konoha did she put it? She really needed to have a 'place' for her stuff. Struck by a sudden bolt of inspiration Kushina leapt onto her sofa which coughed up a cloud of dust and she pushed her hand beneath it and pulled out the belt. Kushina tiptoes across the mess towards her front door and reached for the latch but realised suddenly she was still in her pyjamas. "Dope." She flung her faded clothes over to her bed in a bundle and looked around for the nearest clean clothes and pulled on a black mesh long-sleeved top and a zip less half-length thick orange flack jacket with her family's crest etched in red stitching, a matching low-rise skirt that split at both sides to reveal a pair of black leggings and a pair of thigh-high orange sandals. Kushina re-clipped her equipment and flung herself outside; she dashed down the flight of stairs without properly looking where she was going, only to crash head-long into the unexpected arms of Minato. He stumbled to keep them both upright.

"Wh-" He blew a strand of her hair from his mouth as he pushed her away to regain his own balance, "There's no point in running now, you're already – "

"I know, I know but my alarm didn't go off again – "

"You should stop throwing it at the wall then; maybe it's broken at long last. I only got that for you a month ago as we-"

"Don't have time for chit-chat. You could have knocked for me sooner!" Kushina spat at him.

Minato shrugged, looking slightly guilty and he replied, "I thought I'd see if you could get up on time, since you're planning to become the leader of a new group... I thought you'd be mad at me for – "

"For what? Getting me up in time?"

"-For babying you as you always complain about."

Kushina paused as she thought that through, he did have a point... "I'd much rather be on time and patronized! Ugh... I suppose he could be busy with paper work and stuff... maybe he'd be glad that I'm late..." She trailed off as she stepped down the stairs dejectedly.

Minato grumbled with frustration and gave her a slight shove, "Forget what I said earlier, RUN!"

"You're right Kiss-ass, there's no point in being any later eh? See ya!"

Minato sighed as he wondered idly if he would ever manage to live his old nickname down.

Sarutobi inhaled the aroma from his pipe leisurely and tapped it to encourage it to burn a little more as he glanced at the clock on the wall opposite his desk. Only fifteen more minutes and he would earn himself a free lunch. Everything was going according to-

"SORRYI'MLATE. SIR!"

Well at least she stopped to bow and not barrel into my desk this time.

"You're early." He found himself replying curtly to her, Kushina looked up from her bow with confusion. He didn't sound all that sarcastic... did she get the time wrong.

"Err..." The red head began in uncertain tones.

"I had a bet that you would arrive at half eleven," He continued with a sharp prod to his desk, "So now I owe my assistant lunch when it should be the other way around. I thought I could rely on your unpredictability remaining predictable. So now you're paying for his lunch."

"I... Sure sir." Kushina replied, baffled by the old man. Maybe her dreams of becoming Hokage wasn't so far off... he was beginning to seem... senile.

"Please, take a seat Kushina." The old man gestured to the chair before him with a kindly smile on his face. She took it without hesitation, still drowsy from waking up only minutes before. "Not I have read the file you composed about the proposition but there are a few details which I would like to discuss to prevent any forms of misunderstanding.

'_Like hell the file isn't specific enough. I had Nara go over it for me. And he liked it.'_ She grumbled internally while keeping her sweet smile fixed on him. "Sure, what you do want to go over first?" She asked as she clasped both her hands on her lap politely.

The Third responded to her smile by widening his and elaborated, "Let's begin with the premise of the idea."

She waited for a moment before her rehearsed speech organized itself in her head and answered after clearing her throat, "'Course. My idea is basically a new model to organize the way in which we train and arrange our Shinobi teams. I believe that it can improve the overall success rates of mission, lessen the likelihood of major injuries and deaths to our Shinobi and promote overall diversity to our men. I believe that in doing so would also have a positive impact on out world-wide reputation and if implemented correctly and successfully, I can predict that our reputation will improve and more jobs, I mean... Missions will be offered to us."

Kushina paused as she waited for the old man to respond to her barrage of information; he looked down at his bridged hands in thought and eventually asked,

"And what are your suggestions, what are the alterations that you would make to our Shinobi?"

She had hoped he would ask that, she moistened her lips before she continued, "Okay, well let's think of how we do things now. You receive an A-class mission and you select A-class Shinobi. That may work but is it right to only include an A-class team? Why not choose a specialist for the team whose abilities can counteract the enemies' abilities, if the information is provided in the file? In doing so, more Shinobi gain experience and this may promote them to a higher rank where they ordinarily would not have attained."

Kushina paused again, not for his questions but simply to allow herself a moment to back in her fully formulated plan and how well it was working so far.

"We can train Shinobi who would otherwise be trapped as Journeymen, or Chūnin, who would otherwise be unable to be promoted due to their lack of _diversity_ in regards to the techniques they can use. So rather then allowing their talents to be put to waste, I believe that we can train them to specialise in the fields they are good at. If there are enough people who fall into that category, we can then make an entirely new division of Shinobi and we can then harness their skills to be a vital part of our force both as additions to other groups or form new groups within the division. This model may also me implemented for our High Ninja, or Jōnin, and I believe that this idea can lessen injuries and fatalities and improve mission success rates."

Kushina relaxed slightly in her chair, she had sat bolt upright due to her suppressed tension and excitement about talking about this idea to the Hokage but she suddenly felt her energy drain from her as she let out a slow breath to try and relax.

The old man who was nicknamed _The Professor_ for his sheer intelligence and abilities as a Shinobi didn't allow her long to gather her thoughts as he asked her quickly, "Yes, you mentioned the positive outcomes to this idea but how exactly would this be achieved?"

_Hadn't she answered that already? Kushina felt she had explained it in so many ways but maybe the old man was testing her, he acted as though he hadn't read the file she had given him which was frustrating but it could be a good thing. Maybe he was testing her; he wouldn't do that if he didn't like the idea. Would he?_

"Amongst the other things I have mentioned," She replied with a little barb, "I believe that this model may allow more medics to be trained. Specialists can teach specialists if they are earmarked from a young age from the lower ranks of Genin if their potential is noticed. This fact can work for all forms of skill from other forms of Ninjuitsu to Taijuitsu and Kenjuitsu. Using Medic nin's as an example however, I have noticed during me research," _Nagging Nara, _"that they struggle to remain in par with their team and find it difficult to keep their aptitude as medics proportionate." _I never want to say that sentence again. _Kushina thought darkly as she tried to remind herself to breathe a little more often. "So... my suggestion is that we train medics, remember only as one example, in a way so they become specialists in their field and they are trained in complimentarily skills like self defence and survival skills." The Third Hokage looked as though he was about to speak when she cut over him, "This is because I believe that in doing so, they can protect themselves from attack and heal their teammates after battles."

The third let her words sink in as he rested his chin on the heel of his palm.

"Think about it, we train more specialist people from maybe as early in the system as Genin. We could have teams with people whose skills complement each other naturally as opposed to them having to learn to work as a team when their shared skills are not as compatible as they could be."

"And this is your idea?" The third asked.

His simple questions and prompts were starting to get annoying. Didn't he say he wanted a discussion? "Yes Sir. This is my idea. I... well honestly, I made this plan with the hope that this will save lives. I don't want war, I became a Shinobi to protect people and prevent all kinds of pointless fighting." She looked down as a nameless dun-white mask bore down at her with piercing green eyes. Kushina cleared her throat and continues with a little more strength, "I know this will have a positive impact on our military. I believe that more Shinobi would be promoted making us stronger." She couldn't seem to look up to the Hokage so instead she looked down at her hands, "It may make everyone else want to improve their military strength. Make bigger armies. But I guess that this would happen anyway eventually. At least Konoha would be prepared." Kushina coughed a lump which had grown in her throat; she wondered why those eyes in her memories caused her so much pain. She couldn't even remember the man's name. The redhead carried on talking, a little too brightly for the old Hokage not to notice her state, "Of course I interviewed some of my colleagues for my research and their contribution is detailed within the bibliography at the end of the file." She was struggling to get her teeth around the words, Nara had hammered them into her skull after he decided that since she had bothered him so much to make him give an interview, he may as well help her with the rest of her work.

"_To stop you from bothering me again with more inane questions you may forget to ask me today." He said with a scowl. _

_Kushina glared daggers at the lazy ninja "Inane? INANE!"_

"_I'll admit it is a very good idea. But your file is so complicated and confusing; you'll be laughed out the office." The man paused with a sigh as he read a section over again and he continued in a resigned tone. "If you're happy with the information within the file then let me borrow it so I can proof-read what you have. I'll even throw in some suggestions as to how you should respond to the inevitable questions the third will ask you. _(Answers which she memorized word-for-word) _just promise me you'll never ask me to help you with anything like this again."_

"_What if it's another fantastic idea?" Kushina asked with a grin._

_Nara muttered more to himself, "I doubt you would be able to come up with another idea like this one."_

'_That's it!' Kushina thought as she balled her fists to tower over the dark-haired man, "What makes you say that huh?"_

_Nara remained stoic despite the fist epitome of rage stood before him, "Because it's a very good idea. It's ironic that our most disorganized Ninja wants to organize our entire system. Ironic but genius non-the-less."_

"_I'd kiss you right now if you weren't you!" Kushina said snapped back to her usual self and gave the man a playful punch in the arm. _

_Nara could have sworn he felt it break._

"And you would name this new division..." The third peered through his glasses down at the file before him, "The Tokujō Jōnin or the Jōnin Elites, correct?"

"Yup."

"And you're electing yourself as the potential candidate for the post?"

"Nope, I'm not. I'm saying I'm the ONLY candidate for the post." Kushina responded with a confident smirk and crossed her arms and initiated a staring match.

The third placed the file down without breaking eye contact and regarded her with a smile; he always did enjoy their conversations. "And that would be why?"

"Coz I fit in the category myself. I came up with the idea. I researched and pieced together my arguments for me proposal AND I'm confident in my leadership skills."

The Third quipped as he pulled out Kushina's personal file from beneath the Elites file. He looked down at the information and Kushina chalked up another win on her imaginary scoreboard. "Of which you have none at present."

"I'm confident in my ability to _learn on the job._ Just like I always do." Kushina emphasised as she refused to back down. "I'm not letting you do this idea without me."

"You have never led a team both as a Sensei or otherwise."

"Learn on the job." Kushina sang back.

The Hokage sighed, "And how am I to convince the board that you're eligible without experience. I really like this idea Kushina. It's good enough for me to say without conferring with any one else that this idea would most certainly be allowed on a trial run without any arm twisting. I just... know that there is no chance they would pass this on for a trial if I placed you as the leader. They would not allow it. I want you to step down on your threat. This idea can work and potentially in a few years time you would have sufficient experience to justify you attaining the place."

Kushina kicked back on her seat so she was balanced on the two back legs and thought, "You're buttering me up. You know they won't let me get promoted after the idea's a huge success. They'd just keep whoever else they had before." Kushina insisted, her voice having a slight tone of sadness. She swallowed as her voice seemed to fail her. "There's no way they'd let me do it. The ideas' great. I know this much. Maybe good enough for me to offer myself for the place so once they weigh up the con of me being in charge with the sheer brilliance in my idea. They'd go for it. It's my only chance old man."

The Third blew out the breath he had held slowly as he thought heavily. "The Chūnin exams have just passed. This means that if this idea gets passed, they would trial it for the arrival for next year's exam. That leaves us a year." The man played with his salt and pepper goatee as he thought.

Kushina didn't really understand what he was talking about, "For..?"

"I cannot allow you to take the lead. That is my final decision."

Kushina was crushed; she didn't even feel like hurtling anything at him like she had before. She didn't have the energy to.

"This leaves you a year to gain the experience needed for the post."

Kushina suddenly perked up at the sweet sound of hope. "But how? I mean, I can take more missions become a full weapon expert to fully complement my-"

"-That's not what I mean. What I am saying is, you have a year to gain experience to improve your leadership. You must keep in mind that you must do something... incredible to be recognised by the council within such a small window of time. Adding to that, you must remain consistent in the growing strengths and improvements of both yourself and your team."

"Right," Kushina nodded, missing the implication, "so what do I need to do?"

He could have slapped his forehead, she was lucky she was only pitching it to him; she would have been launched out of the conference room long before now if she had. "Lead a team for a year." Kushina's face lit up at the prospect, "A Genin team."

It fell.

She read and re-read the three files before her as she sipped her drink at the noodle bar. He had their files in his desk draw, ready for her to receive at the end of their meeting. The sneaky man had it planned all along.

"Mitarashi Anko, Kamizuki Izumo and Kotetsu Hagane." She muttered to herself. "So we have Anko with ability in fire techniques and an interest in summoning and Genjiutsu. A well-rounded Shinobi with most of her stats. _'...prefers to work on individual tasks but is able to work in a team after some encouragement' _Great_. _Then we've got Izumo who can use water techniques well. Average in every other stat however there's an attached character recommendation; _'Level-headed and competent... about the only person who can control... Hagane'_ who... is the last one. Hmm... Good for summoning. Good for weapon techniques_... '...works well with friend; Izumo. A competent Ninja however, he has a short attention span and can be disruptive.'_ Joy."

Kushina flopped forward onto the counter and sighed heavily, "May as well go meet the kids." She sighed as she cast a glance at the setting sun behind her.

"Wish me luck!" She said to the owner as she paid her bill and took her jacket.

The man chuckled, "I thought you didn't believe in it?"

"I'm gonna need every bit of help from now on so maybe I should?" Kushina offered and waved to him as she left.

"Anko... Izumo... And Hagane." Kushina pointed to each of them, "I'm Kushina, Uzumaki Kushina. I'm your Sensei. Hi."

The two boys were stood beside each other; she guessed they knew each other well already the girl; Anko sat on one of the training posts in the middle of the field. The dark haired girl had her arms tightly crossed as she regarded Kushina coldly.

"I've heard of your name before," The boy, Hagane spoke up and looked away nervously under her gaze, his cheeks burned a little beneath the thick bandages he wore, "My dad mentioned that... you were pretty... Scary."

Kushina beamed at this and crouched down so her eyes were level with his, "Yeah I remember him now. Now I showed him the what for when he got on my nerves. So you stay off them and we'll get along fine." And she tousled his hair with a sickly sweet smile. "Your file says you have an interest in weapons right? Don't tell me you plan on using your spiky head as one too?" Kushina said as she flicked the boys' overly gelled hair. Izumo sniggered at this and even Anko smirked.

Kushina straightened and cleared her throat as she looked down to the kids, "Listen up squirts. Coz I'm only gonna say this once." Kushina warned as she cracked her fingers to loose them, "I work damn hard in everything I do and I'm damn good at my job. I didn't want to be a Sensei but seeing as I have no choice in the matter, I'm gonna be the best Sensei out there. You three are gonna be the best Genin out there. We'll be the best team in all of Konoha. Now that's gonna happen if you follow my command. There will be no complaints. No laziness. No crying. No nothing other then hard work and having a good time while doing it. All in all this melts into one simple rule which I want you to memorize and follow." She took a pause, their faces were apprehensive, maybe she was being too hard on them but she needed to show how serious she was. "Respect me and I'll respect you."

The kids nodded slowly after a moments pause.

"Do that and we'll get along fine." Kushina surmised with a grin, "You got all that?"

The kids simply looked up at her as her words sunk in.

Kushina suppressed a grin as she waited for a moment before saying, "I asked you a question, so if you're not gonna reply I'll consider it as you disrespecting me. So for that it will be... 1000 press-ups. After you've run the perimeter of this field twice. Got it?"

The kids begun to protest but were silenced by her threatening glare. "Another word and it will be the same over again." This was as good a time as any to see what their stamina and speed was like. "What are you all gawping like that for eh? I didn't tell you to catch flies with your mouths now **SCAT**!"

_**Author's notes.**_

_**Fell asleep half way through writing that. So... tell me if there are any mistakes. I'm pretty tired.**_

_**Oh and if you're wondering if Kushina may seem a little OOC (If Naruto's supposed to take after her) I'm making her seem harsh because she wants to be seen as responsible and be respected. Thus, being a little harsh now and then. Plus I can imagine her to be quite a defensive character so... the best form of defence is attack right? I'm rambling.**_

_**Thank you, as ever you fantastic people! Please review and I will love you always and forever.**_

_**Lonski.**_


	4. Missing

_**My next chapter up for the purge. I hope you like it.**_

_**Lonski**_

_**

* * *

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**Chapter four.**

**Missing.**

It had been some months since she had been tricked into the task of becoming a Sensei. She didn't like to admit it openly but she was becoming quite attached to them. They were a pretty good team together, they had their problems like the boys preferred to work together and it left Anko to pair with herself but she didn't mind. The girl was a more then capable fighter so that fact didn't pull down their teamwork overall. She counted herself lucky that this was her only real problem; Minato had many more difficulties with his own. The son of the late Hatake Sakumo frequently tore apart his teams dynamic and was causing a rift between each person in the team. Minato however, ever the optimist believed that one day, everything would fall into place. That Kakashi would see his own flaws and work hard to change.

She drifted into the restaurant stall with her hands shoved deep inside her pockets; Kushina barley heard a voice quip to her,

"Better stop doing that, someone might get hurt."

Kushina slipped into a stool beside him as she remained in her own little world of thoughts, "Huh?"

Minato smiled and added, "Thinking and you never go well together. Something chaotic always happens. So what's on your mind?" He asked lightly, a tone of seriousness ran through his smile. His blonde spiky hair waved gently in the warm late afternoon breeze.

She smacked him on the arm and Minato struggled to pretend that it didn't hurt as she scowled, "Hey whattaya mean '_someone might get hurt'_ if I think? I come up with good ideas whenever I think, don't forget who you're talking to now eh?" She prodded him in the arm with each word.

Minato gasped and pretended to be overwhelmed by her presence, "My god, I forgot who I was speaking with. My apologise for my ungracious words Kushina-Hime I-"

Kushina suddenly looked at him darkly and snapped, "Stop that."

"Minato looked at her with a confused expression, "Kushina?"

After a moment, she cleared her throat awkwardly as she tried to ignore his questioning eyes, "I... just don't like you using titles like that. I've always been just 'Kushina' to you and you've always been 'Minato' to me. No matter what, yeah?"

Minato brightened a little and asked, "Even if you're a fancy special ops member?"

"Even when I become the first female Hokage." Kushina added smugly.

Minato laughed and nodded in assent.

The Third had managed to persuade the council to allow the Elite group to be made on a trial basis well ahead of time. It had only been a few months since she had pitched the idea to him and there was still a lot of time before the exams arrived. He had allowed the idea to be trailed with a small selection of both the Chūnin and the Jōnin who slotted in the specialist category. Things were going so well that the old man had managed to get her from being an ordinary member of the group to having a more active role in running the organisation. She wasn't in charge yet, some creepy guy called Ibiki Morino had been given the role as the main overseer. She did not know him very well but so far he seemed to be doing a good job and that was enough for her.

"Good to know you're humble as ever Kushina." Minato commented to break the thoughtful silence between them both.

Kushina smirked and shot back, "Well I have to be confident coz I have you as my rival," Kushina admitted as she raised the Sake cup to her lips, "coz you're like what, the third choice for the place. There's pervy Jiraiya and then Tsunade and then you." Minato opened his mouth to interject and she continued with her voice a little louder, "I mean, honestly it's only a matter of time before the Third bows out. I know we only really joke about this... but I know you want the position as much as me. And you've got a much bigger chance in getting the place. More people listen to you, you've got this vision for what Konoha can do and be. I said I wanted to be Hokage as a kid because I wanted to get attention and maybe respect. I'm far more serious about it now but... As you said way back when, _'You really shouldn't become Hokage if the only reason is to make a point like that.' _And –"Minato tried to interrupt her again by grasping her arm, "No – listen!" She urged him looking at him directly in the eyes, "I have my specialist team. It's gonna be a flying success. It's already going great in the guinea pig phase. I'm doing all that I can to invoke change, so maybe you're the one who should lead it." She paused but Minato was speechless. Kushina then added with a small smile, "Besides, your face would look better up there on that ol' piece of rock then my stupid tomato head. I can make them look under the underneath the underneath without becoming Hokage."

Kushina pulled a smug smile but it wavered slightly as she admitted, "Well I have to be with you as my main rival." She raised her Sake cup to her lips before she continued, "Coz you're like, what? The Third choice for the place. The only other people who are an option would be Jiraiya and Tsunade."

Minato made to open his mouth to interject but Kushina cut him off with a sharp look and she continued with her voice slightly louder.

"After that it's you. You're the best option in my view because you're more with the times then the other three oldies. You're powerful and respected and yeah, your lack of _oldieness_ may seem a disadvantage compared to the other's experience but we're at peace. There's time for you to learn what needs to be done and how. And lets face it, the Third's gonna bow out in like... the next couple of years. He's done his job and bloody well at that. I know we joke about it and everything but I know you want this as much, if not even more then me. I said I wanted to be Hokage as a kid because I wanted people to notice and respect me. I'm far more serious about my ambition now and I want it for many more reasons but... as you aid way back when... _'You really shouldn't become Hokage if the only reason is to make a point like that.' _But you said it because you wanted change and become a great Hokage for everyone so they would come to respect you for what you accomplish. And – "

Minato set down his own cup a little harder then he usually would and looked at her in the eye to say something but Kushina cut him off again.

"No – listen!" She urged him as he made an irritated growl through his teeth and she continued as she grasped his arm firmly. "I have my specialist division. And even though it's at the Guinea pig phase still, it's a wild success. It gonna be historic when it's allowed to work for every rank in a few month's time. I'm not being arrogant when I say that either. Heck, even Nara was impressed! I've turned a few heads and maybe I'll change a few minds once its working on full throttle. But right now, I'm happy with what I've done. I've invoked some change into this archaic system, so maybe its up to you to lead it towards something completely different and better." She stopped to let her words pass through his mind.

Minato was speechless. What could he say to that? He had noticed her being more and more withdrawn into her thoughts with each day. It had worried him because he thought there was something wrong. So was this what she had been thinking about all of this time?

"'Sides, you're face would look a lot better then my chubby old mug. And they'd run out of rock to do my hair." She said with a self-effacing laugh as she pulled at her long scarlet locks. "I can... make them see beneath the rock... Look underneath the underneath without being Hokage." She admitted finally to him as she let her hair drop back to fall over her left eye.

Minato raised his hand to rest on her hand which still clung to his arm and hesitated it away before he said, "Kushina... You don't really mean that-"

"No I'm not giving up on my dream." She said with a little too much insistence, "I'm just sayin that yanno, if you're the one who beats me to it then I'm not gonna hold it against you. But if its someone else, I'll be the one to beat them – WITH MY FISTS!" She said as she shook her free hand in a threatening manner to him. She then realised where her left hand rested as she pulled it away quickly.

"I won't let anything change anything between us. You're... one of my most important people and I wouldn't change you, or loose your friendship for the world. Even if you drive me mad most of the time." He admitted with a wide grin.

Kushina had not missed his pauses, her instinct told her something was amiss with what he said, she just didn't know what it was. "Yeah." She replied after a moment.

A slightly awkward silence shrouded over them as they finished their drinks. Kushina reached for the water used to dilute the Sake and poured herself a glass as she had a niggling feeling that she needed to sober up. She could think what it was since it was late afternoon already.

"SHITE!" Kushina suddenly yelled as realisation flooded her mind, "Two hours late? How could that have been two hours?" The red-head exclaimed as she looked at the sun for the time and leapt to her feet to gather her things.

Minato remained confused as he tried to relax after being scared half to death by her yells. "What-" He began and then his eyes widened as he realised what it was, "Training the kids. You better run!"

Minato remained confused and watched her silently as she panicked and ran around to gather her belongings, when suddenly he realised what it was, "I think I'm beginning to understand how Obito manages to be as late as you. Remind me never to let you stay around him much. I don't want you both swapping tips on how to forget important things." He scolded as he chuckled at the thought of his scatterbrained student. "You better run." He advised with a smile.

"I am running!" Kushina yelled at him as he tried to zip her flack jacket on when it was inside out. "Oh shhh- Will you get this, I'll get the next one I swear!" Kushina called at him as she began to leave as she zipped her jacket the right way.

"That'll be the fifth in the row but hey... I'm used to it." He added evilly and watched the slight tinge of guilt wash over her face.

"I'll make it up to you, I swear!" She promised as she turned away from him, "See ya kiss-ass!" And with a wave and a sprint, she vanished.

Her hair had caught the late afternoon sun; he still stood by his words when he said it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

The warmth and light of the day had faded as brooding clouds drifted over the sun. Minato wondered if it would rain as he looked up to the sky, just in time for a drop of rain to land in his eye.

"Ugh... Try that again Kahashi." Minato commanded as he blinked furiously. He did not need to watch to know that his student had already begun the technique even before he had been told. The blonde felt his hair had begun to lightly stand up to make his hair even wilder. His scalp tingled and he reached to scratch it and instantly regretted doing so when his hand was numbed when it snapped back at him.

His other two students had gone their separate ways; Rin had gone to train with the resident medical specialist Tsunade and upon realising that it would just be himself and Kakashi, Obito had suddenly remembered he had an important training session with his family. It as probably one of the most convincing lies Obito had told.

So, it was just the two of them in the middle of a muddy field due to get even more waterlogged after the rain started up properly. The blonde Jōnin tried not to take it personally whenever this happened. According to Rin; Obito and Kakashi had a record breaking fight the day before. So, with a mission due for the start of next week, Minato had decided to let them be and cool off before them. It was always a difficult decision whether he should get involved or not, they were both smart enough to see their own faults so he hoped that once day, they might just mature enough to admit it to each other.

A bolt of white light shot from Kakashi's fingertips as he focused on controlling the energy he had summoned into a sphere but it all suddenly became too much to handle. The energy exploded and skittered across his arm and knocked the boy from his feet.

"Damn it!" The usually reserved silver haired boy spat as he picked himself up painfully.

Minato rubbed the back of his neck a he thought, "Maybe we're trying to work out this technique from the wrong angle." He offered a pained smile as he understood the boys' frustration. He himself was struggling with his own original technique; the Rasengan. It is a swirl of Chakra energy imprisoned in a shell of more energy. He wanted to eventually power the technique more by adding the wind element to it but even trying to control the ball of energy proved to be too much to handle currently. "Okay, lets just go over what we know so far and –"

Minato was suddenly stopped when a blur of red, orange and black came into view and nearly knocked him over.

"Kushina wha-"

She clung to his shoulders in a painful grip and shook at him when she spluttered, "Tell me you've seen her? This can be the only place we haven't searched yet. TELL ME YOU'VE SEEN HER!"

Baffled but suddenly panicked when he saw her eyes had become glazed with unshed tears, "Who?"

"Its Anko – I'm so bloody fecking stupid.!"

He gripped her arms now with shock, "She's hurt? Where –"

"I dunno, she's been missing four hours, we've looked everywhere. I –" She looked down with mixed emotions written on her face, "I'm always late for everything. Worse then Obito."

"Not possible." Kakashi interjected coldly, Minato shot him a look and turned back to Kushina.

"She prolly got bored of me and gone off to train herself but... I just can't find her. No one can. She's no where from the village. Tell me you've seen her, please."

Minato raked his brain but could not remember seeing her at all on the training fields. He had been here all day and had a clear view of most of the surroundings. "No." The blonde Jōnin replied simply, instantly regretting it.

Kushina's grip slackened and her arms fell bonelessly to her sides. "Oh." She answered as her voice barely audible.

Minato struggled to find something optimistic to say, "Kushina, I-" But he stopped just as an equally pale Izumo dropped into view, "ANBU were dispatched when I contacted the Hokage. I waited for their returning report. It's not good. She's missing from the entire village Sensei."

"Eyewitnesses?" Minato asked, there was still hope of tracking her.

"I... Don't know but Hagane went to ask as I left, I wanted to get here as soon as-" He stopped as Kushina's hand landed on his shoulder.

"Thanks kid."

"Alright." The boy understood the unspoken command and launched himself away to return to the Hokage tower as fast as he could.

"Wait for Hagane. Get a trail and find her."Kushina muttered more to herself then either one of them but Kakahai replied.

"The likelihood of her leaving the Village of her own violation is slim. " The child-genius analysed, "she is intelligent enough not to wander alone from the Village for fear of being attacked or worse even if the reason for her to want to leave out of some childish plea of attention." Kushina made a small sound of pain and Minato walked towards the boy to try and ask him to stop but the boy continued, "And so the most probable explanation for her disappearance is either she was tricked or taken by someone within the Village by someone she trusted."

"Trusts!" Hagane hissed his correction to the boy. His dark spiked hair shook madly in the air as he regained his balance near to the other three. "And what do you know anyway genius? Maybe she did leave the Village herself. She can take down pretty much anyone and defiantly scum like yo-"

"Hagane..." Kushina turned to the boy."

"Right." Despite his usually unruly behaviour the boy would always attempt to follow decorum and work his hardest in front of Anko. It would have been adorable to watch him defend the girl if times were not so grim, "Last eye witness was an old – a middle aged woman tending to her husband's grave in the cemetery. This morning, a few hours before we were due to meet to train. The witness claims that Anko was looking at her parent's gravestones for some time before she turned and left the place. No other witnesses have been found as of yet. ANBU are continuing their search with that witness with that new information in mind. Izumo said he's gonna hole up at the Hokage's office until the next report arrives."

Minato was impressed at the sheer professionalism of the rebellious boy, if he was the boys' age and in the same situation, he would have lost it a long time ago.

"Right." Kushina shut her eyes as she calculated what her next move should be, "So we've got a window of time to fill of about twelve hours, give or take." She looked at Minato who nodded, "She's being looked for within the Village walls and so a radius search should be our next port of call. "Hagane, call ahead to the Hokage, tell him that I want my division on his room ASAP!"

She had regained some confidence that Anko could be found, it made Hagane smile as he nodded, "Got it!" and he leapt to disappear in the trees which divided the Training grounds from the Village.

The rest of the Jōnin rank had heard of what had happened and every single available Shinobi arrived on the roof. Kushina marched across the thin line of free space on the roof and said as she paced, "I want you to all divide into teams of three or four. I want at least one medic, one tracker and a front man. If it is a team of four then I want a complementarily skilled fighter to provide support. Keep radio contact as often as you can, report your location and your team's status. Report any sightings of foreign ninja across our border. You have permission to question them and ask why they are there; do not attack them in anyway without any proof. Got that?"

"Ma'hm!" A chorus of voices shot back to her.

"Good. Go then!"

A sudden flurry of movement rushed around her and the men and woman disappeared from the flat rooftop beneath the Hokage Mountain.

Minato moves to stand beside her and murmured, "You think it was the Village Hidden in Clouds?" His voice was low enough for her to hear him alone, he thought he wanted to keep it to herself otherwise she would have mentioned it.

He thought right and she wordlessly nodded, "They took me when I was young. They want powerful Ninja with unique powers. Everyone knows about Anko's ability as a Shinobi. Heck, even Orochimaru wants to do the unthinkable and wanted to tear himself from the shadows to train her personally."

Minato looked surprised and muttered, "I never knew that. Why didn't you –"

"-Because I didn't ever want it to happen. She was doing fine in the team she was in. I wanted her to be a specialist..."

"Sensei?" Hagane asked her from somewhere behind the two adults.

Minato turned to Hagane and Izumo and then to his own team just as Kushina looked to hers and thought with a pang, _she should be stood by them._

Her voice shook noticeably as she said, "Right, let's go!" Kushina called as she flicked her radio on.

* * *

_**Author's notes.**_

_**I would like to thank:**_

_**Deora, Midorchi, Hinata Uzumaki-sama, myth buster, Kris-san, Moodiful819, Kushia, ixi-shaz, Irish12345, Shtuff, mouseter, Rosepadfoot, Godspellfan, Heidi Sonnenburg and necklace.**_

_**And everyone else who had read, messaged me, favourite me and this story and has continued to read and be interested. Thank you.**_

_**Lonski.**_


	5. Everythinig that's left behind

_**So close to catching up now I can almost feel it.**_

_**Thank you faithful reader.**_

_**Lonski.**_

**Chapter five.**

**Everything that's left behind.**

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The remains of the day faded away with the deluge of grey rain and black mud underfoot which washed away all hope of finding her. Keeping the trail which had led them to the edge of the Villages' boundaries towards... enemy territory.

"Damn..." Kushina shut her eyes as she tried to stop a stream of oily mud from running into her eyes and failed miserably. She wiped her hands on the ends of her long hair which clung wetly to her frame in a poor attempt to clean her hands. As she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand she spluttered in pain as more grit burned her eyes. "Damn..." She cursed again as she clawed her headband from her forehead and used that as a cloth and finally, the pain eased enough for her to blink her eyes open and wince at her surroundings. They were even darker then they had been before.

The young Shinobi lent against a tree and began, "Sh-" before a crackling voice burst into existence in her ear.

"_Kushina-San?"_

"What is it?" Kushina yelped with a mixture of hope and desperation.

"_I'm afraid I must suggest that you return back to base, you have taken the time of two shifts. With poor conditions and lack of visibility, it would be best to allow a tracking team to take your place. You cannot stay there all night."_ It was Yamanaka; impartial as ever, he was right, Kushina could even hear his teammate Nara mutter his own agreement.

It stung like nothing else to admit that he was right. Kushina nodded slowly before she realised he could not see her agreement.

"_Kushina-San?"_ He asked again, a tone of concern etched in his voice.

"Yeah. You're right. I'm just being... selfish." Sometimes she really hated having a division in her group whose knowledge of the behaviour of people allowed them to read everyone like books.

"_Copy that. Over and out."_ The static hissed coldly in her ear for a moment before she managed to summon the energy to turn it off.

"She'll be fine, you know?" Hagane offered to her in a small voice. The boy had become ever more serious as time went on, he and Izumo had stayed out with her for the extra back to back shift. They looked exhausted and Kushina felt herself become colder as she berated herself again.

"Let's do what ol' ponytail says and get outta here," She perked, unable to reply to Hagane's statement.

With regret, she turned towards the Village and ran across the waterlogged forest floor, she was more accustomed to the terrain then the other two were and progress was slow as the team constantly had to stop to pick themselves up and bandage new cuts from brambles and branches with each fall with sodden bandages. Eventually the team reached the lip of a wide and alien clearing. With no sun or starlight, it was difficult to maintain the right direction, Kushina didn't recognise the land. She knew they were still in the boundaries of the village since it was after all names the Village Hidden in the Trees. She just didn't know where exactly.

A flash of silver seared her cheek and she wondered hazily if it was a shard of hail as her Shinobi instincts told her otherwise and she launched herself sideways to land in a skidding heap on the ground. Blood ran down her face as the blade of the Kunai had torn the many intricate capillaries under her skin. It stung but it worked in her favour, it brought her out of her mind and onto the battlefield before her.

"Scatter!" She yelled at the other two, the boys instantly disappeared in the tree line behind.

Kushina ran forward towards where she guessed where the enemy were, it was the best manoeuvre she could think of to do that took the brunt of the attacks away from the weakened boys. Two shadowy figures materialized at either side of her and it looked like a Genjuitsu illusion but she couldn't be sure in the heavy rain. She parried the attack from the one to her left with her own Kunai and almost instantly blocked the second Shinobi's attack from behind with a kick to his arm when he thought she hadn't seen. She dropped a smoke bomb from her belt and flung it to the ground while they were still dazed and although it would not work well under the poor conditions, which gave her enough time to throw down a more conspicuous exploding charm tagged to a kunai.

Kushina leapt backwards and back to where the boys should be in the trees and hissed, "Stay close to-"

"You to prevent them taking us out one by one - " Izumo quipped back to her as he slid to stand by her.

"Jez, forgot you trained us so well in your old age Sensei?" A spark of normality shot between them and she smiled as she regarded the enemies.

"You just wait you little brat, when we're done you're gonna die by my –"

"_Earth Style – Mighty fist!"_

Kushina yelped with surprise as she glared at the enemy, "That was my line baldie!"

A perfectly formed fist made entirely of solid rocked hurtled towards them, she had no time left to simply stare at is and she slapped her hands together and exclaimed, "Water Style: Barricade!" and from around Kushina, a rush of ice-cold clear water shot forth and grasped the fist with a resounding crash.

Without the need for orders, Hagane ran around the clashing techniques and yelled as he pulled a long scroll from his vest, _"Ninja scroll technique: Metallic rain!"_ The Earth element attack floundered beneath the force of both attacks and the Shinobi released it as he raised his hands to protect himself from the onslaught of various small weapons from the scroll. Screams could be heard from the second Shinobi as Hagane's attack managed to get him in range.

Unable to maintain the technique for much longer, Kushina cancelled her own juitsu and scored the surroundings for it was unusual for there only to be a team of two-

"_Earth style: Flaming Darts!"_

Three blazing shards of rock hissed through the rain towards them, Hagane was the nearest to the attack and he had managed to summon his Katana in time to block one with a painful _ding_ to the blade. The smouldering rock embedded itself in the ground beside where the boy stood and extinguished just as Kushina dodged her own with a duck and dashed towards Izumo who had been half way through a Juitsu and threw a Kunai at it when she was in range. The rock exploded into dust just as Izumo belted,

"_Water release: Syrup Capture Field."_

It was his newest technique; Kushina spun to look for something he had obviously seen and see the two fallen Ninja crumble into useless piles of dirt and for the real Shinobi to explode in a cloud of smoke from where the darts had been. They instantly circled in on her but miraculously one of the Shinobi had slipped on Izumo's technique and had gotten stuck in the thick sludge as it gathered around his ankles. With the other two unfortunately, she hadn't been so lucky.

"_Earth release: Bedrock Coffin!"_

Two slabs of heavy rock more then three meters in diameter zoomed towards her from either side. There was no way she could out run them, especially since she had now gotten stuck in Izumo's own Juitsu. Thinking on her feet in her lest few seconds she yelled,

"_Shadow clone Juitsu!"_

Three doppelgangers appeared around her from clouds of white smoke, two instantly took the task of trying to slow the incoming slabs with the pressure of summoned water from their mouths. While the third shoved Kushina as hard as it could away from the attack just as it closed in on the three clones and ended their lives.

"Sorry Sensei!" Izumo called from behind her as he presumably grappled with the trapped Shinobi. She ignored him and honed in on one of the two free enemies.

"Where is she?" Kushina yelled as her hair whipped around her face in thick bands full of mud and it mixed painfully with her cheek.

The Bald man's lips curled in a greasy smile and sneered, "Wouldn't you like to know missy." His head gear said he was from the Rock country but she had assumed as much from their attack style.

"I swear if you don't now, that will be the last thing you ever say!"

The man mock gasped at her as he bore down on her, "Really? I guess I just broke your promise to me!"

Kushina hissed back to him, "Your funeral pal."

She formed the same tiger seal from before and five more clones of herself appeared around the much taller Shinobi, his eye widened as he watched as she and all her clones simultaneously pulled out a weapons scroll of their own.

"_Ninja tool technique: Metallic rain times six!"_

Axes, shurikens, kunai and an array of various other small weaponry mixed with her own touch of the occasional exploding scroll hurtled themselves at the enemy from all angles, many missed but that was part of her plan. The missed weapons fell through the opposite scroll and burst back through their respective scroll again, elongating the attack and disintegrating the Shinobi's pitiful defence of bloodies hands and arms. He could no longer raise his arms to guard his face, but it wasn't simply because of the agony of the attack. A wide fork of lightening skittered across the sky and it revealed a thin network of wire tangled between the many Kushina's hands and they were wrapped around the screaming man who had finally collapsed to his knees.

The Kushina's tossed their scrolls to the ground towards their opposite doppelganger and it made the enemy Shinobi fall painfully onto his back with a groan of unconcealed agony.

"One last chance. Tell me where she is and I'll get you help."

The man's breath caught in his mouth and he coughed a dark bubble of blood, he spluttered until it slid down the side of his mouth. "I don't know what you are talking about."

The sheer honesty rang through his voice that told her he was a man with nothing to loose, "_What?_" She gasped, "The why were you-"

"Told to distract... anyone who came our way. Don't know who but paid a lot - of money." The man gasped as his head rolled sideways, the rain washed the cold metal of his headband to reveal that it was blank and the rock countries symbol was nothing but an illusion.

"You have to be lying, tell me!" Kushina cried as she fell to the floor beside the dying man, she ignored the pain of the shards of metal from the ground around them. "Tell me damn you!" She shook his arm as she shouted to him but froze.

His eyes were blank and his form lay limp against the wire. His frame was breathless; he was dead.

A vice called though the darkness around her, all sounds had vanished around her as she had interrogated the now dead man before her. "Kushina-Sensei!" It was Izumo; she did not need to turn to know that the other two had defeated their opponents. The only sound now was her remaining teammates' footsteps coupled with the falling rain.

"Sensei?" Hagane asked her, he did not need to ask anymore.

"He said nothing about Anko. Nothin' at all. I'm..." She let out a withheld breath in a gasp as she bit her lip.

Hagane replied strongly, "Don't be."

Izumo looked across the grassland in thought and tried to calculate how far away from the Village they were, with the ever darkening sky and the pouring rain, he knew they needed to move before they were intercepted again, "We need to move; with the storm I'd be surprised if they could contact us again anytime soon."

"Yeah," Kushina agreed as she pulled herself to her feet, "There's no point in taking them with us. I got all I needed."

They moved forward with a leap and rushed through the branches of the many trees which surrounded the Village of Konoha. It was said that every Hokage had planet and grown the trees using a special Wood elemental technique. She supposed that was how the Village got its name, Kushina thought idly. Her mind kept pressing her to think on what the Shinobi had said; _'Told to distract... anyone who came our way. Don't know who but paid a lot - of money.' _They were dressed as Rock-nins and fought like them but their headbands wouldn't confirm it. I wasn't normal for enemy kidnappers to hang around once their targets had bee taken to distract. She knew from her own experiences as a child that they wanted to leave quickly and without a trace. So why did someone pay for them to stay behind as a distraction?

A flash of yellow and white burst through the trees and for a moment she thought that lightening had struck. Hagane swore with shock but relaxed when the forms of three other young Shinobi followed. They saw it was Minato and his team. Her already on-edge team had reacted with hostility and Minato apologetically said,

"Tried to contact you but the static..." He saw their torn clothes and the odd array of cuts and bruises they had gained in the fight, "What happened? Did you –"

"Men who dressed and fought like they were from the Rock country stopped us as we returned. Probably missing-nin since their headbands were fakes. They didn't know anything about Anko..." Izumo informed them with a glance to his own two teammates, "They were hired to slow us down."

Confusion and sadness washed over Minato's face, Rin made an apologetic sound as she wrapped her arms around herself to try and keep warm. Obito sniffed slightly as he looked down in disappointment. Kakashi remained indifferent as ever. Kushina couldn't even summon the will to care.

"Mild set-back. We'll find her!" Hagane suddenly shot through the dull silence, the others looked at him with surprise and with a small glimmer of hope panged in Kushina's heart.

She couldn't trust her voice to agree but she nodded with a smile as her warm tears mingled with the rain.

She tipped another clay cup of the strong clear drink down her throat and slammed it down with a cough. Her head ached and her body felt too warm and slow. Kushina peered down the neck of the clay bottle between them and flicked it at the side to listen to the sound.

"'Think its dead." She muttered.

"You kept drinking it so quickly, I'm not surprised," Minato muttered back as he lent heavily on the table with his chin rested upon his arms. "You're supposed to dilute it, not drink it like that."

"I think the Ramen place should do booze. That's be perfect! Food and drink all under the mane roof. I should tell the guy of my brilliant plan and then claim a large share in his earnings. I'd be rich in a week!" Kushina cheered as she prodded the empty Sake bottle.

"Yeah, yeah. Great for the kids to see when they eat there. Adults getting drunk and falling into their bowls." Minato said as he rolled his eyes to her with sarcasm, "They could put the bottles on the shelf by the flour. Know the one I mean?"

"Yeah yeah smart-ass. Its just an idea. And since when did you go all maternal?"

"It's paternal" Minato corrected in a beat.

"Whatever."

"I just care; it's not about being paternal. Ugh, come on. My head's killing me, we've missed last orders anyway." Minato said as he stood and reached inside his vest pocket to take out his wallet and paid their tab.

"Last orders? It's only early..." Kushina said, confused as she turned to look at the lock on the wall of the place and cursed, "Feck... I'm gonna be soooo tired for my sh... sh- sh..."

"Shift?"

"Yeah, shift tomorrow. Gotta have that de-briefing to that guy... Ibiki." Minato; the soberest of the pair, took Kushina's arm and lead her down the street, "I know he let me take charge of the mission brief on the roof... D'ya think he only let me as a charity case? I'd hate that to be the reason... I don't want him or nobody else 'ta feel sorry for me because of... Anko."

"Don't think so. He's not the type." Minato answered honestly to her as he peered through the darkened streets and figured out which was the best route to take.

"I guess not. After what happened to him I doubt he had any sympathy for anyone else. In a good way. He's a good Shinobi and better at being in charge then I'll ever be. He _sees_ people so much better."

"I think you're underestimating yourself."

Kushina sang back to him in a low tune, "May-be but let me be down coz I'm sad." And she hugged his arm as she walked.

They had initially started drinking because Kushina was too distracted to simply go home and sleep and wait for her next shift in the morning. So, he took inspiration from his own Sensei's habits and proceeded to get them both drunk on Sake. The plan had escalated to them finishing off three bottles between them when Nara and is new fiancé arrived and proceeded to make them all feel old and more depressed. It was nice that even though times like this however, that normal things still continued to happen. He yanked Kushina as she wandered in a slow and meandering break for freedom from his arm.

"'Thought it was right." Kushina mumbled to him as she followed his lead.

"No, just the other right... Ugh, I'm never drinking Sake again. That stuff is _poisonous._"

"Say that now but we're cracking out another bottle when we bring her back." She said with a prod to his arm and Kushina didn't see a meander in the road and she stumbled into him, he took her other arm and righted her wordlessly before she continued with a smile, "You're gonna have to get over that hangover soon coz we're gonna do this again real soon when she's back."

Minato laughed, "I'm not as bad as you. I'll be ready." He smiled half heartedly as he looked up to the stairs which led to her apartment. "I think I better take you up."

Kushina protested, "But there's a –"

"Rail I know but I'd feel better if I helped."

Kushina grumbled as he led her up the concrete steps. An odd feeling had slipped into her stomach; it made her feel suddenly nervous. Exactly how she felt whenever he mentioned how they would always be friends... She always had this odd feeling of hope whenever he looked at her, helped her with anything, was near to her...

"Hey mind th-"

Minato managed to grab her just before she face-planted the stairs. Kushina righted herself as she sat down and rubbed her sore shins.

"I think I'm going for an all-time record for being a klutz tonight. Ow."

Minato sat beside her; half glad they had taken a breather but he turned to Kushina to realise she had been staring at him.

Kushina turned away quickly with warm cheeks, she had been thinking of how strange things were with Minato, what had changed? Was he getting tired of her? Kushina stood with renewed determination to tackle the stairs alone and marched up them with vigour.

"What's – "

"Nothing's wrong Minato."

There was something defiantly wrong with her. She never used his name.

"You looked like you were going to say something." He pressed as he followed her.

"I would have said something if I was about to say something. You know how impulsive I am." Kushina defended without looking around him. There were only thirteen steps but they had never felt this far before.

She fumbled in her pockets for the keys after she had finally reached the door.

"I never liked this colour. It seems horribly ironic, don't you think?"

Minato could hardly keep up with the odd conversation but saw she pointed at her red front door.

"I dunno, I always liked the colour."

"The door or my hair?" Kushina asked, lost in her own conversation.

"Th – we were talking about the door I like it. Both. I like both, why are you asking?"

Kushina paused in thought, "I just felt like asking." She tried another pocket for her keys, "Why though?" She couldn't help asking.

"I... its different." He admitted as he felt more perplexed as each second passed.

"Different in a goo-"

"I've always said I liked it." Minato said a lot quicker then he had intended, "I like the door being red because it reminds me of you, so I like that too. Where are we going with this?"

She shrugged, "Nowhere I guess. I didn't really have a plan. I said I was impulsive."

"Am I going to have to break in again?"

"Break – oh no I have them here." Kushina said as she pulled her keys to his face.

"Goodnight then I guess." Minato offered with a small wave.

"Yeah... see you tomorrow."Their eyes met for the briefest of moments and they both broke away simultaneously.

Kushina turned and snapped the door open and slid behind it, suddenly shy and gave him a small smile before she closed it.

Unbeknownst between the two of them, they lingered by the door in the dark and wondered what was happening between them. Emotions were high because of Anko's disappearance but this had been going on for some time. But what?

She pushed herself off the wooden panelled door and walked into the kitchen to turn the kettle on and flopped onto the couch and fell instantly asleep.

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_**Alcohol... bad for you kids. **_

_**Ahhh... my last ever chapter to edit. I can FINALLY continue with my planned story. Thank you so much for keeping with me. For all of your comments, advice, interest and just generally being awesome people. **_

_**I would love to hear from you more now I have re-written EVERYTHING to make this a better story, something that deserves your time more. I hope you've liked it so far. **_

_**There will be no more time skips for the near future. We've finally reached where I'm gonna write the bulk of this story now. **_

_**I wonder how much of my Britishness is coming off from the swearing. Haha. I try and keep it as minimal as I can as it is a T after all but I'm allowed some small profanities if the time and place is calling for it right? **_

_**Roll on the summer and roll on the writing. **_

_**Read and review guys!**_

_**Peace. **_

_**Lonski.**_


	6. My Favourite Things

_**I started writing this before my birthday which was in May which sort of illuminates how busy things have been since that time, since it's now October… Where does time go. As a friend of mine Lady Librarian explains, it's difficult to find time to settle and write when life is determined to happen around you. All the writers I follow here on this wonderful site seem to update less and less these days, this further demonstrates that all the people around me all are getting more responsible and busy as time flows by. Heck, maybe I must be too. **_

_**This isn't a goodbye by no means. Not at all. I have an ending to this story; I even have a sort of sequel. I just have little time to craft and its suck a shame. But here I am with my new writing glasses on (ugh) and a file full of my writing notes beside me. A boyfriend who is determined to distract me because he thinks I work too hard and music blaring in my ears. It's not so bad.**_

_**Some of you may be waiting for a love story, some of you will want an action packed plot. I'll do my best to deliver. I started this a long time, just during the time when Naruto's origins were mere whispers. I'm kicking myself for not writing this when I had more time. Thank you for reading, thank you for your patience and well… Thank you.**_

_**Lonski**_

_**

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**Chapter Six.**

**My favourite things.**

The meeting the night before had been adjourned after news that the post-mortem were still being carried out. Despite that however, everyone attending the meeting seemed more than happy to remain and argue again and again over what must be done first, how and why. Eventually it took the fraught Hokage to call to order with a voice to challenge thunder and to send them all out to return the next morning with clearer heads and calmer voices.

Kushina ran her fingers through her fiery hair as she lent her elbows heavily upon the table she sat before as the group were given a brief respite before the mornings' meeting as the Third read the file before him. Thing were much quieter now, too quiet for Kushina, not even because of her turbulent personality needing more action and less discussion. Last night's meeting made her weary and she had been more than just a little bit relieved to walk out. It seemed the night had made the same thought in the back of everyone's mind that the prospect of another war was inevitable. It wasn't just about Anko, Kushina knew this, they had spent all last night discussion all of the things and reasons as to why the climate between the nations was so tense. More Shinobi had disappeared before and since Anko and there was no segment in Kushina's mind that whispered that Anko had betrayed Konoha but that conclusion could not be drawn for all of the other hundreds of Shinobi vanishing without a trace from seemingly every corner of the world. It was a commentary on the Third's great leadership skills for understanding how the people who worked beneath him functioned to call a break to all come to the same conclusion, to be on the same wavelength so calm could enter the fray. It did not solve the problem at hand however.

"Results show that the Ninja who attacked Team Kushina were not from the Rock." The Third concluded from the file over his glasses to the Shinobi before him.

The silence was shattered almost as though it had been broken under the intense pressure of the tension created from everyone trying not to think of the problems at hand and in doing so had thought about it more.

"A distraction then, to make us lose sight of the true target?" Ibiki spoke, his voice being one of the few to not be spouting expletives.

The Third nodded thoughtfully, "Potentially yes, there were not that many clues left on the bodies to – "

"-Had it not been for the violent manner in which the Shinobi were converted from enemies of the nation to mere corpses." Homura drawled. Kushina shot a glare to him; the be-speckled advisor had always had it in for her.

"Well had it been you, old man, the body left on the slab would have been yours. At least something could be uncovered from the attack otherwise we would all be still sat here like last night and be grasping at freaking straws you poncho-wearing son of a-"

"Exactly." The third interjected sharply with a look at them both. "Look through the bad and there is always good, at least we could draw some evidence from the bodies. Now, are we all due another argument or can we continue with this meeting?"

"Just get on with it old man and shut the hell up Kushina." The bear-like man growled.

Kushina would have thrown her chair if it had been anyone else however, she had too much respect for the scarred man, and his rudeness towards the Third was proof enough that she was not the only one being affected by the strain of being stuck in a meeting and not being able to do anything which actually felt worthwhile.

Minato spoke in a voice which was softer than his usual, his eyes were shadowed but they seemed sharp as ever which made a small bubble of hope rise in Kushina. "What evidence is there to suggest that the Shinobi were not from the Rock?"

The Third nodded and replied, "Good question, indeed their attire, form of battle and their innate elemental affinity with Earth does suggest all is what it seems however upon close inspection the Coroner is adamant that there is some contradicting evidence. You see, each headband has a specific seal put on it which is what depicts the countries' symbol. It's one of the few things in which all nations share and it is a difficult thing to break because it works as a form of registration and usually when it breaks it is a sign that the Shinobi affiliated with it is deceased. The seals found on the headbands of the Shinobi you found were broken but were replaced with a similar kind of seal to depict the Rock Nation's symbol."

"Wh- am I the only person here who thinks that's a great deal of trouble to do something you could just do with a small chisel and a pick?" Kushina asked with a look around the room.

"For once we share a similar train of thought Kushina." Homura responded with a sniff, "It does seem like a troubling method to simply disguise the Shinobi's true origins.

"Troubling indeed, troubling also to uncover the truth." Ibiki surmised as he crossed his arms, "And so it seems our enemy is more than willing to spend a lot of time and energy to confuse and delay us, this does not seem like a man who would form a superficial plan but instead one which would be very disconcerting indeed."

"But what does this have to do with Anko?" Kushina cried as she rose from her chair and knocked with a clatter, "What does any of this have to do with finding her? We're just wasting more time nattering here and doing exactly what this guy wants us to do and waste time! She's out there and she's alive, I know she is. Anko's a talented ninja and it would take a fool to simply kill her but this guy isn't. "

"_Kushina_." Ibiki warned.

"Powerful the girl may be. Her powers remain greatly undeveloped. She would be little use to anyone, let alone the kind of ninja which we are dealing with; there is no evidence to suggest that these incidents are connected Kushina." Koharu remarked. Kushina jumped as she had forgotten the woman was there on the other side of the Third. "You said so yourself that when you questioned the Shinobi he knew nothing of her."

"Little use? She's Jōnin! How is she not an ideal candidate to be taken? This guy is methodical, he's patient. Ibiki, you know he's the type to do such a thing. He'd want to train her, brainwash her even. She'd never leave willingly!"

"So eager to take every comment and remark as slander against you." Koharu muttered. "It's a wonder we even considered you to head the Jōnin elites.

"That's unfair." Minato hissed to the woman, "She's just lost one of her teammates, we all know or are connected to someone who had gone through that."

Koharu did not even break pace as she replied, "Such is the life of a Shinobi. Emotions like this have no place in war."

Minato looked away and bit his lip almost as though he tried to seal whatever words which begged to be free within. Silence fell once more upon the room. The Third took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh before saying,

"There seems to be marks all over the bodies of the Shinobi. The Coroner's report shows that he believes that these were used to drain the bodies of their blood – "

"The Shinobi were very much alive when I fought them – "

" – In order to replace the blood with a green Chakra-sensitive fluid as a blood supplement." The Third continued louder than Kushina.

"Wh-eh?" Everyone seemed just as confused as she was, "but all that blood, you just said was, ugh!"

"It must be a form of body control," Koharu commented with a sigh, "a way to control the body with ease."

The Third turned to her and asked, "Has such a thing been done before?"

Koharu shook her head, "I have never seen examples of this before, there are theories aplenty of such a phenomena being possible but no. Never."

"Well then the Shinobi could be lying! Maybe he was forced to say he knew nothing about Anko!"

"You don't seem convinced on that one Kushina." Ibiki commented brusquely.

"Enough with the analogies! I'm not in a bloody case file!" Kushina yelled.

"Well this analogy may interest you; I do believe that the man who made those Shinobi into effectively puppets would be the type to kidnap and train Anko to work to his will." Kushina sagged with relief which was short-lived as he continued, "However, we still do not have enough to work with. There is no one to interrogate or follow as their tracks were literally washed away."

Kushina felt like screaming louder than she ever had before, "But we can't just sit around and do nothing!"

Minato stepped forward and placed a warm hand on her shoulder and in a calming voice, "I believe we have time to spare still, this man is using delaying tactics himself. I want to find her as much as you do Kushina, but were could we even start?" He turned to Koharu and continued, "The technique which seems to be used to control the Shinobi, I guess would be a forbidden one if it existed right?"

Koharu nodded.

"So then whatever theories you mentioned, they could be traced since there wouldn't be that many."

"Logic suggests that this may be true, yes." Koharu gave with a slight nod of approval.

"Right, so at least we have a direction to go then." Minato offered Kushina a slight smile. It was almost lost on her as Kushina found herself unable to look at him.

She replied in a hardly audible voice, "Yeah."

"So you get to do your favourite thing then, so cheer up." Minato encouraged despite the odds of her cheering up stacked against him.

"What's that?" The red-head muttered weakly.

"You get to hit the books!"

"Kill me now." Kushina sagged.

It was not exactly what she had in mind when she imagined being able to actively search for Anko but if it meant that they would all potentially end up in a place closer to finding Anko then where that had begun, being in a library was a sacrifice she was more than willing to make.

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_**Thank you for reading. Please review.**_

_**Lonski.**_


	7. Which one's the okay one?

_**Sorry these are getting smaller, I'm just getting back into my stride and just stopping at natural pauses.**_

_**Oh, and I do make a habit in responding to all of my reviews so I WILL reply to the backlog of comments when I can. Thank you I do appreciate i'm just REALLY busy!  
**_

_**Lonski.**_

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**Chapter Seven.**

**Which one's the okay one?**

"This is useless!"

They had gained unlimited access to the great Library and had been searching high and low for almost a week and despite the odd objection and any breaks Kushina took, Minato was surprised she had stuck at it for so long and had not tried to run away or find another method of uncovering another trail to follow.

"Hmm." Minato responded from behind the heavy book he had perched on a stand before him.

They were supposed to be working with the rest of the team assigned with the same task however after many protestations of them all being '_geeky creeps'_ Minato separated himself with Kushina with the parting order for the rest of the team to inform them of any discoveries. There had been none. Yet. He reminded himself, yet. Minato was worried about Kushina, while they were together, she seemed able enough to focus on the work at hand but when he took a day away to train his team before the three were sent on a mission away from the Village, she hadn't even been able to read a single book or scroll and instead had spent the entire day reading and re-reading Anko's file for anything she may have missed about the girl. Despite her claims that the girl would not betray Konoha, it seemed that Kushina had niggling doubts which would not go away.

He was not a selfish man in any regard he hoped and sometimes believed however, he had begun to pray more than he had done since they had before that they would find something, anything soon. Ever since he was told he was to be despatched on a mission with his teammates upon their return within the next few days. He was afraid for Kushina, he could not predict what she would do if he was to leave for an innumerable amount of days. The worst part was he hadn't told her he was leaving. He didn't know how.

"You'd think they'd make these things easier to read!" Kushina hissed as she carefully unravelled a large scroll they found in the medical section. Even with her skills in making and breaking it had taken her half a day to break the seal upon it, they did not know what the scroll was about but with such a difficult seal upon it, the prospects seemed good.

"What is it?" Minato asked as he peered over the book he had just closed and blinked through the curtain of dust he unwittingly had made with his eagerness.

"Ugh. Not what we're looking for." Kushina muttered as she read the many intricate symbol and diagrams on the yellowed scroll. "Interesting though, it's a kind of sealing system for holding down moving things. Supposed to work like chains or an anchor or something…" Kushina continued as she peered closer until her nose touched the parchment and she backed away suddenly to sneeze. "Need to find another, not what we need." She muttered as she teetered on another sneeze.

"And to put that back where you got it." Minato replied as he moved back to where he had sat before he ducked from her sneeze.

She sniffed as she re-rolled the scroll and held it under her arm to take back with her. "Joy of joys. Same section do you think?"

Minato nodded thoughtfully, "We're most likely to find something good if it's a difficult seal."

"Hmm… Hopefully I won't need another scroll to unlock the next one I find this time. I'm gonna need glasses after this I hope you know. I'll need a stick and everything just to move properly."

Minato smiled but it did not feel as though it reached his eyes, he hoped she would only read it as tiredness and not worry for something other than about Anko. When it came to reading people Kushina was one of the best, second only to her mentor Ibiki. The blonde stared fruitlessly at the back of the book he had recently closed and considered reading another book beside him. He did not think he would find anything useful in a book anyone could just open however if he took to scrolls like Kushina he would still be just as unlikely to find anything useful, fast. He wasn't as good at breaking seals as Kushina and so he reached for another book in the small hope that the author may have used it as a double bluff to hide their research findings.

"So what is it then?"

Minato felt as though he jumped a mile, for a ninja of his stature he felt quite ashamed for being caught so unawares by someone approaching him from a direction he did not expect.

"Eh?" He spluttered intelligently as he turned to look at a scroll-less Kushina leaning over him.

"You heard." She replies in a low tone.

"Nothing, the book was useless like you said." He turned away from her and reached to grab for another when he felt himself be pulled away from the book by a very, strong hand.

"I didn't mean that." Kushina replied as she pushed the book he reached for with her other hand.

"Hmm." Minato did not know what to say, it seemed almost ridiculous that he couldn't tell her, she could take care of herself, she wasn't stupid. She did stupid things however and that was the point, he mused. "I don't know what you mean."

She raised a thin eyebrow and growled, "You just did what I mean."

"I'm leaving you!" He exclaimed suddenly as his mouth seemed to take a life of its own, damned woman. Her other eyebrow followed the other in confusion, "I mean… I'm leaving Konoha in… A few days." He tried to recover from that ridiculous line. "I don't know how long for, I haven't been told what kind of mission it is, you know how it is." He finished weakly as he felt her grip on his shoulder tighten momentarily in what he hoped was not annoyance or pain.

"Is that all?" Kushina asked, still suspicious.

"I was worried you'd be…" He trailed.

"I'm fine" She said quickly as she released her tightening grip, "Do you know when?"

"Not exactly, when my team return from another mission, we go straight after that."

"Right. Well I'll go find another scroll and you just keep reading those books." Kushina waved her hand at the pile of books beside him.

"Yeah." He nodded. For someone as perceptive as she was, she was one poor liar.

_**This story keeps running away from me but even though the story is going in a direction I didn't predict or plan I still quite like where it's going. Tell me what you think, either way if you can. I'd love to hear/read what you have to say.**_

_**Lonski.**_


	8. Memories

_**A/N: Just so you know, there's going to be a few things here that may disturb a few people, so viewer discretion is needed. There's no violence per-say, I just address some themes and images which may affect some people. **_

_**If ANYONE can please come up with a better title, please let me know. I'm stumped!**_

_**Also! This chapter has a lot of flashbacks and thought processes so for the sake of your sanity, here is my guide:**_

"This is normal prose.", _'This is thoughts.', __**"And this is a flashback."**_

_**Read, review and enjoy.**_

_**That is all!**_

_**Lonski.**_

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**Chapter 8**

**Memories.**

Her eyes felt hot as she stared down at the seemingly endless amount of words and symbols laid before her, she could no longer remember the last time she left the Library when the sun was still up. That thought alone made her sink into another layer of dark depression.

"That's it." She pushed herself up, stiff limbs protested as she swayed a little before making for the nearest exit. She was no use to anyone looking up books, besides there was the rest of the so-called research team working on it too. Minato had taken time off to train his team and now with them being on a mission for X amount of says, it was only fair that she could take some time to stretch her legs and –

"Agh, its freezing out here!" Kushina cursed to herself, the fire country was well-known for its balmy weather throughout the year but the sun seemed unable to break through the misty cloud today. What would have been a gentle breeze had now become a chilled breath. She pushed her long hair forward to rest around her arms and wrapped her arms around herself as she walked down the heavy stone steps.

"Great, the day I go out for some sun and it had to be on one of its days off. Just great, I may as well be indoors – Wait." She paused as an idea came to mind, they had spent so much time looking in books and scrolls for more information of whatever managed to reanimate the corpses that no one had thought of actually looking again at them with something more specific then the green goo and the official cause of death. She turned abruptly to walk towards the hospital, she entered the main street and was soon met with a crowd of Shinobi and civilians alike shopping and going out to eat, it was the main image she got whenever she thought of home when she was away on a mission. Just a normal day, walking through the Village alone or with friends. Maybe getting some Ramen with Minato. Kushina smiled at that, it was the simple things in life which she loved the most and although she would never admit that to anyone, she always kept those memories to heart.

"Wait, did I just make a goofy face whilst thinking of blondie?"

However, before she could examine that idea closer, she noticed a familiar pair of boys in the distance stood nearby the great gate of the Village. Intrigued, she walked down the high-street towards them.

"Oi! What are you two doing moping around here for?" Kushina yelled, neither had noticed her coming as they had both been looking away and at the dirt path that led to the Village.

"EH? Don't DO that!" Hagane yelled with a jump, "What was that for?" The scandalised boy asked as he rubbed over his panicked heart.

Izumo shrugged, "Guard duty." He tried to look nonchalant by making a slight cough; it was a good effort to look anything other than surprised.

"Guard duty?" Kushina asked with a puzzled face.

"Yeah, we figured it would be a good thing to see who goes in and out of the village." Kushina didn't miss the slight tremor in Hagane's voice as he spoke.

"Wh… so this is how you've spent your time then? I thought you were going to train, instead you're spending your time watching folks come and go all day, asking questions and jotting down names?" Kushina couldn't understand their surprised expressions, they were supposed to be improving their skills and instead they spend all day doing nothing – by choice!

"Actually we don't ask questions or for names." Hagane offered and seemed to instantly regret it as he felt the heat of her glare.

Her hand shook as she clenched them, "Then what do you do?" The words were spat through clenched teeth; Hagane sank further into his seat.

Izumo obviously seemed to try and save his friend from certain doom, he rose from his chair and replies quickly, "We watch for any suspicious activity; transformation techniques amongst other kinds of genjutsu, concealed weapons, suspicious packages."

Kushina frowned with disbelief, "But you haven't been trained in those things yet –"

"-We told this to the Third, then he referred us to train with Kurenai Yūhi; another Chūnin who specialises in Genjutsu –" Hagane tried to say but was cut off by Kushina who appeared to have heard enough.

"It's one thing that he coops me up in that damn Library but to make you do guard duty! What does that even mean, huh? No one's done that before, so why now? I've had enough, I'm going to sort this out right now with the Th – "

"- No!" Hagane shouted as he rose from his chair, abruptly cutting her off mid-rant; surprising the other two. "No one's ever done it before and now Anko's gone." Kushina's anger seemed to waver at the boy's admission, "So we went to the Third and asked him about us maybe doing this, it might not stop people coming in and going out the Village completely but… It might help. Just a little. So the Third decided that an official guard would be made. So we take a few days each week and some other Chūnins take over on other sifts during the day and the gates close at sunset. And we train with Kurenai whenever we can to help us with our job. At least this way… if she ever does come back on her own… We'll know about it."

Completely deflated now, Kushina looked at Izumo for confirmation, ne nodded solemnly to her. "Agh, so you're still training then?"

Izumo gave her a lob sided smile and replied, "'Course, we need to be ready for when you and Minato-Sensei find more clues so we won't be a liability on the mission to bring her back."

A lump formed in her throat, she made a small cough and tried to speak but her voice seemed to have left her so she punched them both not-too-lightly in the stomachs.

"Right," She managed to say eventually, "I better not let you both down then."

"Any leads?" Hagane wheezed as he sank back into his chair.

"None yet," Kushina chirped, "but I have an idea."

Izumo raised an eyebrow and asked, "Oh?"

The red-head shrugged and admitted, "It might not lead to anything substantial so it's not worth talking about it, but I'ma gonna shoot off just in case it does. The stuff I'm gonna look at won't be worth looking at, as more time passes shall we say."

Izumo grimaced as he understood her but Hagane looked at Kushina and Izumo questioningly.

Izumo shook his head, "Forget it, Hagane. You'd only complain at me for telling you if I did."

"How could you know that if you haven't told me yet? I might not mind." Hagane complained.

Before an argument grew and took full-swing, Kushina decided to take her leave, with a wave, she rang, "See ya!" And took off back down the high-street, and weaved between the shoppers.

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Kushina clamped her hand over her mouth and nose as she fought the urge to gag.

"Which one would you like to look at?" A female Medic-nin asked her in a dull tone.

"Any I'm not too choosy – erm, maybe the one most intact maybe… Yeah."

"Right." The medic said in an aloof tone, and went to a nearby desk filled with files with a huff.

Kushina had taken an instant dislike towards the other ninja, why would anyone in the right mind choose a profession where they dealt with dead people all day. _'Then again, if I had her amount of charm with people I would choose to hide away in an oversized freezer filled with… ugh!' _She thought with a scowl_ '…I bet a decapitated foot with an ingrown toenail would be more pleasant than her!'_

The medic cleared her throat moodily.

"What?" Kushina asked as she emerged from her internal rant.

"I said; the subject is in this draw." The medic nin gestured with her thumb. "I'll get the key. Enjoy." She continued as she fumbled for the right one on her keychain.

"Wh-what? You're not staying?"

"Nope," The medic shot back as she flung the right key at an affronted Kushina, and continued "It's my break. I'll be back in an hour, if you're gone before I'm back, lock up. Bye." And with that, the medic was gone.

"What?" Kushina blurted to a swinging door. With a sigh she turned to the right draw and pulled the draw open.

She balked as the draw ran fully out beside her, "I thought the cold was supposed to help stop this!" Kushina coughed as she tried not to gag, the smell of gradually decomposing flesh attacked her senses.

She looked at the body of the man she had killed that day and remembered...

"_**I don't know what you are talking about."**_

_**The sheer honesty rang through his voice that told her he was a man with nothing to lose.**_

"_**Told to distract... anyone who came our way. Don't know who but paid a lot - of money." The man gasped as his head rolled sideways, the rain washed the cold metal of his headband to reveal that it was blank and the rock countries symbol was nothing but an illusion. **_

'_Was that the man's true thoughts or was that also part of another illusion…'_ She didn't need to look at the Pathologist's report to remember the body had been drained of its blood and replaced with a special chakra sensitive fluid. She could clearly see the puncture wounds used to drain the blood and the abrasions on the ankles which had been caused when the body was hung. The wounds looked old; dark bruises blotched the pallid skin and had not even scabbed; a post-mortem wound, the file had informed her.

"_**Told to distract... anyone who came our way."**_

That bit might be true since the three who had intercepted her tem had done a good job of that. _'But the money part?'_ That didn't quite add up. _The wounds were post-mortem so maybe they had been paid or promised pay only to be deceived and used as rotting puppets to delay the search teams in finding Anko. But why go through all that trouble? On top of all that, to pretend they're Rock-nins with a shoddy disguise?'_

"…_**Am I the only person here who thinks that's a great deal of trouble to do something you could just do with a small chisel and a pick?" Kushina asked with a look around the room.**_

"_**For once we share a similar train of thought Kushina." Homura responded with a sniff, "It does seem like a troubling method to simply disguise the Shinobi's true origins.**_

"_**Troubling indeed, troubling also to uncover the truth." Ibiki surmised as he crossed his arms, "And so it seems our enemy is more than willing to spend a lot of time and energy to confuse and delay us, this does not seem like a man who would form a superficial plan but instead one which would be very disconcerting indeed."**_

'_On the other hand,' _Kushina thought, _'no one really likes the Rock Village because everyone knows they're itching for a war. Even I know that. So maybe the guy who did this wanted us to think they were really from the Rock Village to make us look the other way. Maybe they underestimated Konoha's abilities; it's a long stretch but… maybe.'_

She stepped away from the body and sighed, she hated being cooped up. It was amazing that she actually wanted to spend time in a place like this, even the Library was better. Old dead books were better than hanging out with the dead.

She looked over the body in a desperate attempt to find _something_ the Pathologist might have missed; some other mark or abrasion which could give her a clue. How had this person been controlled? It couldn't have been via chakra strings; she would have noticed and they moved nothing like puppets…

… _**The stench of burning swept over her and stung her nose and eyes, she covered her face with Kenji's borrowed handkerchief and instead she tried to concentrate on the salty and metallic combination of her tears and blood on the cloth. She didn't want to think about what other things were burning other than the wood of buildings. It was too much to think about. All those people...**_

She never did go back. Someone told her once that there had been survivors from that night but they had scattered without a trace. Kushina didn't blame them; she had done the same after all. Sasori of the Red Sand… That was a name she would always remember. Minato was lucky she wasn't an avenger; the last she had heard of Sasori was that he had disappeared after the attack but she suspected he was still alive. The life of a fugitive missing-nin wasn't exactly that of a particularly public one so it was only natural he had disappeared after time. In truth, she didn't really want to fight anyone, sure her nature was typically hot-blooded but that was it. She didn't like to hold grudges, she hated arguments (contrary to popular belief, her mouth had a life of its own) and she hated people who singled out others for their own amusement. She was the bullies' worst nightmare as a kid, her still being called; Red Hot-Blooded Habanero was testament to her power over them in the end.

"Hmm." It hadn't been fun being singled out, the adults mistrusted her and their kids hated her from their folks' example. It was better now that people has bothered to get to know her better. It was all because of…

"Wait."

Kushina raised a hand over the stomach of the body and focused her energies in transferring a little chakra. Suddenly a network of lines formed symbol which she instantly recognised as a seal.

"What the hell?" She gasped, startled, she had never seen this seal be used. Kushina barely knew what it did exactly but she knew the Third needed to know about it. Kushina grabbed the body's file and drew a rough sketch of the seal before it faded and shoved the draw back in before she left.

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_**So, a quick chapter even though I'm supposed to be working right now! I was inspired by a lovely and unexpected review and well, I just had to continue with this story as soon as I got a spare moment. You see, reviewing really does make all the difference! **_

_**Please continue reading, I hope you're enjoying this story and I really hope you have a good Christmas holiday as I might not be able to update before then!**_

_**Ah yeah, this story had been following a vague parallel with the actual series; I came up with the idea of the Uzumaki Village being destroyed by Sasori (I don't know if he's to blame) because he had claimed to have destroyed a nation with his puppetry, Anko's disappearance did happen but she was his Sensei I think but I changed that because I thought her being in a team with Hagane and Izumo would be funny! And Hagane and Izumo being gate guards does happen but for all I know it happened only for the first time when Tsunade made them do it as her official Gofers. I thought it was a sweet image to have them wait every day for their teammate to return, it seemed to be in character for them. And Hagane's crush on Anko, and well… He's the most rebellious of the three and Anko seemed to be quite uptight to me so it just seemed natural that he would like her and for him to be constantly rebuffed by her. Bless. **_

_**Believe me or don't I don't really mind but I had always planned for her to be the container for the Kuubi, for her to have so much characterisation in the Manga just said to me that she would be an important character later on and well I just wanted her to have a lot of parallels with Naruto anyway because of their similar personalities, I wanted her to go after Anko similar to how Naruto is looking for Sasuke. **_

_**Blah blah blah, I don't even know why I said all that but I guess I'm just happy that for once in my life I did a bit of forward planning! Just a bit of trivia: I started taking an interest in Kushina's story because she's a red head and well although I'm not a natural one I've been one for a few years now. Red head's make the best characters, Cha! What is with the sudden craze with dying hair red these days? Rihanna does it and the world goes MAD CRAZY! **_

_**Hehe. **_

_**Thanks again!**_

_**Lonski.**_


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